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Article: Provider specialty choice among Medicare beneficiaries treated for psychiatric disorders.
- Article from:
- Health Care Financing Review
- Article date:
- March 22, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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INTRODUCTION
Because of the high level of mental health needs among elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries and the primary role of the Medicare program in paying the costs of psychiatric care for these populations, policymakers have an important interest in understanding beneficiaries' access to mental health services. Among many important components of access, one is the availability and use of clinicians with specialty training in mental health, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric social workers. Use of mental health specialists is of interest to policymakers because mental health care provided by specialists has been shown to be more ...